Over the last few weeks, this four-part Comic Book Compilations Holiday Gift Guide has showcased a number of four-colour treasures that would make any friend, family member or loved one in your life squeal with glee as they jump on the post-holiday couch, wrapping themselves with a warm blanket and diving deep into comic book heaven.
If you missed them, Part 1 listed a number of wonderful hardcover omnibus books that ran through the genres of horror, superheroes, psychedelia and the old American west.
Part 2 of the series did much of the same, covering both hardcover and softcover books and adding a comic book spy thriller into the mix of offerings.
Part 3, meanwhile, took a close look at the world of beloved cartoons that have made their way into the comic book compendium format.
Today, our fourth (and final) installment highlights can’t-miss hits for the lover of both comic books and classic horror cinema in your life. There’s little time left for shopping, so let’s creak open the door to a dark room and have us some well-deserved illumination!
Over the last few years, Image Comics/Skybound Entertainment has been publishing stories dedicated to the original horror characters of the silver screen – monsters like Dracula, the Creature From the Black Lagoon, The Invisible Man, The Mummy and, of course, Frankenstein. These tales have taken more modern takes on those classic gems, written and illustrated by a plethora of the best and hottest talents in comicdom.
Lucky for us (and that special person in your life this holiday season), Image/Skybound have been collecting their four-part miniseries into handsomely affordable hardcover compilations.
Out this year are two of the most frighteningly delightful additions to the series: Universal Monsters: Frankenstein and Universal Monsters: The Mummy.
Written by Michael Walsh and illustrated by Toni Marie Griffin, Universal Monsters: Frankenstein is a 112-page hardcover that compiles the original four-issue miniseries, priced at approximately $30. Here is a tale we’d all be familiar with but told with a brand-new light. This Frankenstein is the story of the mad Dr. Henry Frankenstein and his monster construction; an unholy creation made from the corpse of a man who once had a son. And that young boy grieves for his lost father, forever changing the life of the doctor.
As a gift, the book is perfectly timed for the pop culture zeitgeist, with the Frankenstein monster on the minds of horror and film aficionados everywhere!
Released only last month, Universal Monsters: The Mummy is the latest collection in the series of original cinematic horror creations. Written by the award-winning Faith Erin Hicks and illustrated by the brilliant Lee Loughridge, the harrowing 112-page hardcover tale, like its monstrous cousin, also collects the recent four-issue miniseries and costs only $30. Here is a new take on the bandage-wrapped classic as Helen Grosvenor is drawn to an ancient Egyptian dig site and unwittingly plays an important roll in the rise of the living-dead shambling monster known only as the Mummy!
We here at Biff Bam Pop! are big fans of the Universal Monsters series of tales. These two books join their earlier published brethren, Universal Monsters: Dracula, which we highlighted in last year’s The Wednesday Run column, along with an exclusive interview with the amazing series artist, Martin Simmonds; and Universal Monsters: Creature From The Black Lagoon Lives!, also highlighted last year in The Wednesday Run. Of course, there was also the entertainingly disturbing Universal Monsters: The Invisible Man miniseries from earlier this year, which we also highlighted in The Wednesday Run – but that tale will be compiled in hardcover format next year.
All of the Universal Monsters comic book compilations are brilliant in their own right and would make a perfect gift for someone in your life.
Or, you know, maybe even for yourself!
We hope our lists have been helpful in your shopping mall expeditions. Good luck with the rest of your errands and best wishes this holiday season from this side of the internet – and happy reading both now and through the new year!